Address by Premier Thabang Makwetla on Workers Day
Program Director,
Colleagues in the Executive Council,
Workers' Leaders,
The working people,
Distinguished guests,
Comrades,
Ladies and Gentlemen
Historically, May Day is a day born in the workers' struggle for the eight hour day, an objective that has become the norm in the democratic South Africa. The day has since gained significance as International Workers' Day, a day on which working people across the world express solidarity towards each other in their struggle for a better life. For as long as Capitalism as we know it continues to rejuvenate itself and thrive as an economic system, workers will engage the owners of capital in different degrees of conflict and struggle. The owners of capital and the owners of labour have to coexist in this struggle, hence the need for an efficient system of labour relations.
South African workers have over the years of struggle against apartheid remained at the forefront without flinching from their historic responsibilities. Without this solidarity between the various sectors of society, it would have been difficult if not impossible to dislodge the apartheid regime from its position of dominance and power. Today, in the process of reconstruction and development, we more than ever still need this broad front of patriots to move the frontiers of poverty that are even more stubborn than apartheid.
For as long as the legacy of Apartheid has not been thoroughly undermined, our unity as a people determined to liberate ourselves not only politically but economically as well remains important.
We meet on this workers' day in 2006 more than a decade after some of the most far reaching labour market transformation this country has ever seen. Not only did the ANC government accord constitutional recognition to key workers' rights such as the right to organize and strike but worker friendly laws such as the Labour Relations Act and the Basic Conditions of Employment Act were enacted by parliament.
In addition to the worker friendly legislative regime, institutions of labour market regulation such as the CCMA were put in place. The direct and most visible result of these revolutionary interventions has been the longest and most unprecedented period of labour-market stability. We have become so used to this stability that recent strike activity might seem disturbing to those who have forgotten that there was a time when wildcat strikes were the norm. In fact the general trend on the number of strikes over the past decade has been downwards, indicating a mature labour relations environment and the stability referred to above.
Let us reflect a bit on what the strategic implications of labour-market stability have been for the socio economic and political fabric of our country.
Firstly , the primary thinking behind the well regulated labour market regime and its' attendant institutions was to enable employers and labour to resolve conflict with ease. As a country we therefore made a choice to avoid the unnecessary escalation of industrial conflict. In the words of the Labour Relations Act itself we sought amongst other aims to
The second most important reason for choosing to have the type of labour relations environment we have was to ensure labour market stability so as to enable economic development.
In other words, from the beginning of our building of a new democracy, we chose to have a partnership between Government, Business and Labour so that social and economic development becomes possible. Recently, Government has set a target of six percent and higher economic growth through the program of Accelerated and Shared Growth, ASGISA.
Economists generally agree that for us to be able to halve unemployment and poverty by 2014, we will actually need significantly higher levels of growth than six percent, given the assumption that currently a one percent growth level results into a 0.7 % growth in jobs created. The economic growth levels we have achieved thus far and need in future to tackle this mammoth challenge of unemployment would not be possible without labour market stability. Such stability is an enabling factor for planning and an important part of the economic investment climate.
Distinguished guests, the working people, ladies and gentlemen, workers both employed and unemployed are beneficiaries of our government's comprehensive social security grants. These range from disability to those related to the scourge of HIV and AIDS.
Unless we dramatically reduce unemployment however, more and more people will remain depended on such grants. Such dependence, in addition to being unsustainable in the long term, cannot be described as freedom. Freedom must be accompanied by the dignity of being able to earn an income and making choices on how to spend such income.
One of the key challenges in the effort to undermine poverty is the need to improve skill levels of our workforce. It is in this context that we wish to reiterate that a high level of productivity which a skilled labour force will afford our economy is the easiest way to sustain and justify higher living standards. Such skill-driven productivity will also make it easier for us to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014. We therefore call upon organized labour and business to join government in contributing towards the national effort to improve skill levels in the economy.
Program Director, Ladies and Gentlemen, in conclusion, I wish to reiterate government's commitment to the Growth and Development Strategy agreement reached last year in Badplaas. That agreement spells out areas of cooperation between Government, Business and Labour. We as government are continuing in the spirit of this agreement seeking areas of partnership for effective and efficient service delivery.
I wish all the working people of Mpumalanga a peaceful and enriching workers' day and that they resume work tomorrow rejuvenated for higher levels of productivity.
Thank you.